Ships of the Royal Navy in World War II

Battleships, Aircraft Carriers, Cruisers

The Royal Navy, still the largest in the world in September 1939,
included 15 battleships, 7 aircraft carriers, 66 cruisers, 184 destroyers, 60 submarines, and many smaller craft. This section of the website includes descriptions and pictures of many of the larger ships of His Majesty's Navy.

For each ship of the Royal Navy shown in the recognition manual (typically the lead ship of the class), you can see a summary description and images -- profile, plan view, and photograph -- of the ship.

Aircraft Carriers

Cruisers

15 Battleships & battlecruisers

The 'King George V' class battleships were the penultimate class
of battleships completed for the Royal Navy (RN). Five ships of the
class were commissioned: King George V (1940), Prince of Wales (1941),
Duke of York (1941), Howe (1942), and Anson (1942).

Five Ships of the Revenge class

Ramillies took part in the Battle
of Cape Spartivento in World War II. She was torpedoed by a Japanese
minisub in 1942. She took part in the bombardment of German positions
during the Normandy Landings. She was scrapped in 1948. One dual 15
inch gun was preserved and is now on show at the Imperial War Museum in
London.

Resolution took part in convoy duty early in World War II.
Was torpedoed by a Vichy French submarine, receiving little damage. She
then joined the Far East Fleet, before becoming a training ship in late
1944. She was scrapped in 1948. One dual 15 inch gun was preserved upon
scrapping and takes pride of place, along with the gun from Ramillies,
at the Imperial War Museum.

Revenge took part in the Battle of
Jutland, sustaining no damage and receiving no casualties. In World War
II, Revenge undertook a number of operations, though by 1944 she become
a training ship. She was scrapped in 1948. * Royal Oak fought at the
Battle of Jutland. In 1939, during World War II, Royal Oak was sunk by
three torpedoes from U-47, with the loss of 833 of her crew. She is now
an official war grave.

Royal Sovereign had a relatively quiet career,
missing the Battle of Jutland. She took part in convoy duty in the
early part of World War II. She was loaned to the USSR in 1944 and
renamed Arkhangelsk, escorting Arctic convoys for the remainder of the
war. Returned after the war, she was scrapped in 1949 in the UK.

Two ships of the Nelson class were battleships of the British Royal
Navy built shortly after the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922. They were
the first British battleships built since the Revenge class of 1913,
and the last until the King George V class of 1936. Because of the
limitations of the treaty the structure of the ships had to be revised,
which resulted in unusual design compromises. Two ships of the class
were produced, named after famous British admirals: HMS Rodney after
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney of the Battle of Cape St.
Vincent and Nelson after Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson of the
Battles of the Nile and Trafalgar.

Barham received five hits at Jutland, suffering 26 dead and 46
wounded and fired 337 shells. In World War II, she fought at Cape
Matapan. On 25 November 1941 she was struck by three torpedoes from
U-331 and sunk.

Malaya was hit eight times at Jutland, suffering 63
dead and 68 wounded and fired 215 shells. In World War II she escorted
convoys and was damaged by a torpedo from U-106 in 1941.

Queen
Elizabeth missed Jutland, but took part in the Dardanelles Campaign in
World War I. In World War II she was mined and sunk by Italian frogmen
at Alexandria in 1941. She was subsequently raised, repaired, and
served in the far east until 1945.

Valiant astonishingly received no
hits at Jutland but suffered one wounded and fired 288 shells. In World
War II, she took part in the destruction of the French Fleet at
Mers-el-Kebir, and was mined and sunk at Alexandria in 1941. She was
subsequently raised, repaired, and served in the far east until 1944.

Warspite had perhaps the most distinguished career of any Royal Navy
ship of the 20th century. She suffered severe damage at Jutland and
nearly foundered (hit by 15 heavy shells). She lost 14 dead and 32
wounded, firing a total of 259 shells. In World War II, she took part
in many battles, including Narvik, Cape Matapan, Crete, and Salerno,
where she was hit by a glider bomb. She was never fully repaired, and
became a coastal bombardment ship, covering the Normandy landings, and
further operations in other parts of France.

Battlecruiser Hood

Sunk by the Bismarck in 1941 in the North Atlantic. The Bismarck put a shell right in a weak point amidships, and the Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy, sank within minutes. Only a handful of survivors out of a crew of over 1,000.

The Renown class

This was a class of two battlecruisers of the Royal Navy
built during the First World War. They were originally going to be the
last ships of the Revenge-class of battleships. The initial expectation
of a short war led to their construction being suspended on the grounds
they would not be ready in time. Admiral Fisher, upon becoming First
Sea Lord, restarted the building as battlecruisers that could be built
and enter service quickly. Eustace Tennyson-D'Eyncourt as Director of
Naval Construction had designed the Revenges, and the Renowns were
produced by lengthening the hull, reducing the number of turrets from
four to three, and providing thinner armour. As a result build time was
reduced and they were delivered not long after the battle of Jutland in
1916. The two ships were HMS Renown, and HMS Repulse. A third ship,
Resistance, was cancelled before construction started. They were the
world's largest capital ships upon completion, until the commissioning
of HMS Hood. The ships were notorious maintenance hogs and widely
derided as "HMS Refit" and "HMS Repair". Both ships served in World War
I and World War II. Repulse was sunk on 10 December 1941 in the South
China Sea off Kuantan, Pahang by Japanese aircraft. Renown survived the
war, to be scrapped in 1948.

7 Aircraft carriers.

One was new and five of the planned six fleet
carriers were under construction. There were no escort carriers.

The Illustrious-class was a class of aircraft carrier of
the Royal Navy that were some of the most important British warships in
World War II. They were laid down in the late 1930s as part of the
rearmament of British forces in response to the emerging threats of
Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan. Each of these ships
played a prominent part in the battles of WWII. Victorious took part in
the chase of the Bismarck, Illustrious and Formidable played prominent
parts in the battles in the Mediterranean during 1940 and 1941 and all
three took part in the large actions of the British Pacific Fleet in
1945. The Illustrious class comprised three vessels: HM Ships
Illustrious, Formidable and Victorious. Three further similar ships
were built as the war progressed, to modified designs in order that
they could carry larger air wings. HMS Indomitable (R92) had a second
half-length hangar deck below the main hangar deck and the two ships of
the Implacable class, Implacable and Indefatigable, had two hangar
levels, albeit with a limiting 14 feet head room.

The Royal Navy built two Implacable-class aircraft carriers, HMS
Implacable and HMS Indefatigable, to succeed the Illustrious-class
carriers during the Second World War and launched in 1942. They were
modifications of the HMS Indomitable (R92) design with double-level
hangars. Unfortunately the hangars were only 14 ft in height and thus
limited the aircraft types that these ships could operate. A
modernisation plan was considered after the end of the war, which would
have involved replacing the double-level hangar with a single 20 ft
high structure. Funds were not available and the ships were retired
after relatively brief careers.

66 Cruisers,

These were mainly post-World War 1 with some older ships
converted for AA duties. Including cruiser-minelayers, 23 new ones had
been laid down.

C-Class Cruisers

In the Second World War, the Caledon, Ceres and
Carlisle class ships participated, despite their age. Calypso caught
the German blockade-runner Konsul Hendrik Fisser in 1939. That same
year, Caradoc intercepted the German tanker Emmy Friedrich, whose crew
subsequently scuttled her. A number of ships took part in the Norway
Campaign in 1940. The C-class were also extensively used in the
Mediterranean Sea; the first notable engagement by a ship of the class
being's Coventry's participation in the Battle of Cape Spartivento in
1940. In 1941, Calcutta and Carlisle took part in the Battle of Cape
Matapan, in which a number of Italian warships were sunk. C-class
cruisers also took part in the campaign and evacuation of Crete, coming
up against heavy German opposition from the air. In 1942, Carlisle took
part in the Second Battle of Sirte. In 1942/43 Colombo and Caledon went
in for their refits - getting 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikons
alongside the twin mounts. In 1943, Carlisle was heavily damaged by
German aircraft, though did not sink. The damage did, however, knock
the ship out of the war. In 1944, Cape Town provided support to the
Normandy Landings, bombarding German positions.

Six ships of the C-class were lost during the war: Cairo was sunk in
1942 by the Italian submarine Axum during Operation Pedestal; Calcutta
was attacked and sunk by German aircraft during the evacuation of
Crete; Calypso was sunk by the Italian submarine Bagnolini in 1940;
Coventry was heavily damaged by German aircraft while covering a raid
on Tobruk in 1942, forcing Zulu to scuttle her; Curacoa was sunk after
colliding with the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary in 1942; and Curlew was
sunk by German aircraft during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940.

* Danae — built by Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth and Company, High
Walker, laid down 11 December 1916, launched January 26, 1918,
completed July 18, 1918, to Free Polish Navy 1944–1946 as ORP Conrad,
sold for scrapping 1948 * Dauntless — built by Palmers Shipbuilding and
Iron Company, Jarrow, laid down January 3, 1917, launched 10 April
1918, completed 2 December 1918, sold for scrapping 1946
* Dragon — built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company,
Greenock, laid down 24 January 1917, launched 29 December 1917,
completed 16 August 1918, to Free Polish 1944, damaged by German Neger
manned torpedo off Caen 9 July 1944, written off and expended as
breakwater off Normandy beaches 20 July 1944
* Delhi — built by Armstrong Whitworth, laid down 29 October 1917,
launched 23 August 1918, completed 7 June 1919, sold for scrapping 1948
* Dunedin — built by Armstrong Whitworth, laid down 5 November 1917,
launched 19 November 1918, completed by Devonport Royal Dockyard
October 1919, torpedoed and sunk by [German U-boat U124 off Saint
Paul's Rock November 24, 1944
* Durban — built by Scotts, laid down 22 June 1918, launched 29 May
1918, completed by Devonport Royal Dockyard September 1, 1921, expended
as breakwater off Normandy beaches 9 June 1944
* Despatch — built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company,
Govan, laid down July 8, 1918, launched September 24, 1919, completed
Chatham Royal Dockyard 2 June 1922, sold for scrapping 1946
* Diomede — built by Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness, laid down June
3, 1918, launched 29 April 1919, completed Portsmouth Royal Dockyard 24
February 1922, sold for scrapping 1946

The Emerald or E class

This was a class of two light cruisers built for
the Royal Navy. Following the Cavendish Class, Three ships of new class
were ordered towards the end of World War I designed to emphasize high
speed at the cost of other qualities, for use against rumored new high
speed German cruisers, and particularly minelayers, in the North Sea.
The E class were based on the preceding Danae class, but had a very
high ratio of length to beam, and only one more gun despite being much
bigger and more expensive
* Emerald (1926)
* Enterprise (1926)

Leander class

This was a class of eight light cruisers built for the
Royal Navy in the early 1930s that saw service in World War II. They
were named after mythological figures, and all ships were commissioned
between 1933 and 1936. The three ships of the second group were later
transferred to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and renamed after
Australian cities.

The Arethusa class

This was a class of four light cruisers built for the
Royal Navy between 1933 and 1937 and that served in World War II. It
had been intended to construct six ships, but the last pair, Polyphemus
and Minotaur were ordered in 1934 as the 9,100 ton Town class
Southampton and Newcastle

184 Destroyers of all types.

Over half were modern, with 15 of the old 'V' and 'W' classes
modified as escorts. Under construction or on order were 32 fleet
destroyers and 20 escort types of the 'Hunt' class.

60 Submarines, mainly modern with nine building.

Smaller craft

45 escort and patrol vessels with nine building, and the first 56
'Flower' class corvettes on order to add to the converted 'V' and 'W's'
and 'Hunts'. However, there were few fast, long-endurance convoy
escorts.

Commonwealth Navies - Included in the Royal Navy totals were:

Royal Australian Navy - six cruisers, five destroyers and two
sloops;

Royal Canadian Navy - six destroyers;

Royal Indian Navy - six escort and patrol vessels;

Royal New Zealand Navy, until October 1941 the New Zealand Division
of the Royal Navy - two cruisers and two sloops.